$1.9 million settles brutality case

Easton's insurer will cover payment related to 1997 police actions.

Easton's insurance company has agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle a police brutality case that involved severe injuries to three men on a Delaware River bridge.

Neither the city nor the four police officers who were defendants will be required to contribute to the settlement, with the possible exception of the insurance policy's deductible amount, according to Philip Hof, a lawyer representing the city.

"This was good for the city and the officers, because it brought closure and finality with no expense to the taxpayers," Hof said.

Lawyers involved in the case received notice Friday that the St. Paul Cos. agreed to the settlement. The agreement avoids the need to appeal a $1.3 million verdict.

St. Paul will benefit from the settlement, because the cost of the verdict could have reached $3 million, including legal fees and penalties for failing to settle the case earlier.

The insurer agreed to pay the entire amount, even though the city had a policy limit of $1 million, after Hof threatened to sue the company for acting in bad faith during earlier settlement talks.

During pre-trial settlement negotiations, U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Caracappa had recommended that the case be settled for $775,000. At that point, the city and the officers wanted to settle, Hof said.

"Once St. Paul had that opportunity and let that opportunity pass, it's the position of the city and the officers that St. Paul became responsible for the consequences," Hof said.

The city was prepared to "go to the mat" to force St. Paul to pay above its policy limits, Hof said.

On April 7, a federal jury ordered the city and four officers to pay damages for brutalizing three Phillipsburg High School football fans after the 1997 Thanksgiving Day game. Mitchell Ricker and Eric Freeman were bitten by police dogs and Alessio Zagra was beaten with a police baton on the Route 22 bridge during a Phillipsburg victory celebration.

During negotiations Monday, the defendants requested Ricker, Freeman and Zagra file a notice with the court clerk, declaring the verdict stricken from the record, according to lawyer John Karoly Jr., representing Zagra. Such an order would have prevented future juries from knowing that the city had a large verdict against it.

"We've said all along, "It's not just the money for the plaintiffs in this case. We want the conduct to stop,"' Karoly said.

It's common to have settlement negotiations after a jury awards damages. Defendants can benefit because they can minimize the amount they have to pay.

The other side can benefit because it ensures an appeals court won't overturn the verdict and the plaintiffs get their money sooner. In this case, the men are likely to be paid within two weeks.

The $1.9 million settlement includes payments to the three men and their lawyers. Lawyers declined to disclose how much each man will receive.

In interviews after the verdict three weeks ago, three jurors said an independent investigation of the police force is needed because of its history of misconduct.

The jurors blamed top city officials, including former Mayor Thomas Goldsmith, for failing to properly train, equip and supervise officers and for failing to provide enough personnel.

During the trial, nine bystanders on the bridge testified that the crowd did not provoke police to use such force. But the officers testified they were defending themselves when the crowd charged them.